The Quidditch Pitch.
The audience had already been evacuated back to the castle's Great Hall, escorted by the Hogwarts professors.
They weren't happy about the sudden call—having finally reached the final stretch, right on the verge of finding out who'd win, only to get herded back inside.
But faced with the professors' grave expressions, they'd gone along with it, however reluctantly.
The stands sat empty now, only the night wind whistling faintly past the seats.
On the judges' panel, several headmasters stared anxiously at the three remaining screens on the giant display.
Lynn's screen.
Harry's screen.
Katya's screen.
Three points of light drifting through the maze.
No one knew what might happen next.
Professor McGonagall squeezed her Magic Phone tightly, knuckles white, lips pressed into a hard line.
She'd already tried calling Dumbledore no fewer than ten times.
No answer.
None the entire time.
Fudge had said there was an emergency at Privet Drive and Dumbledore had rushed off to handle it, but exactly when he'd be back, no one could say.
Professor McGonagall took a deep breath, forcing herself calm.
All that was left to do now was wait.
At least, since Lynn had already sent up the distress signal, nothing further had happened to the other champions.
That let Ludo Bagman breathe a small sigh of relief.
He wiped the sweat from his forehead, thinking: maybe that Dark wizard's already been scared off.
Time crept by, minute by minute.
Deep within the maze.
Lynn rode the Acromantula onward.
Everything around them stayed quiet, save for the steady thud-thud of eight legs hitting the ground.
Rounding another corner, a figure suddenly appeared ahead.
Katya Volok.
He stood in the middle of the path, wand gripped tight, watching this way with open suspicion.
The moment he made out who was approaching, his pupils shrank.
Katya's wand snapped up, and a jinx shot straight toward Lynn!
His reasoning was simple: another Boggart transformation, just like last time. Attack first, ask questions later.
Lynn flashed to the side, and the jinx sailed past his shoulder, striking the hedge behind him.
He frowned.
Katya, attacking him?
That meant he was under Imperio too.
If he'd been in his right mind, after everything from the first two tasks, he wouldn't have raised a hand against Lynn even with ten times the courage.
Lynn made his call instantly.
Fine, then. No need to hold back.
He raised a hand and a bolt of lightning cracked across the air!
Blue-white electric light exploded through the darkness, booming straight toward Katya!
Katya's eyes went wide.
That lightning—
it's really Lynn!
He scrambled to throw up a Shield Charm—
but rushed as he was, the shield came out half-formed, thin as paper.
Sizzle—Boom!!!
The lightning hit the shield, and that flimsy barrier shattered instantly!
The residual charge slammed straight into Katya.
"Ah—!!!"
Katya let out a shrill scream, his whole body convulsing, hair standing on end, faint blue smoke curling off him.
He staggered back and hit the ground.
He opened his mouth, meaning to beg, but Lynn gave him no chance at all.
When Lynn performed his "miraculous healing" on friends, he tended to hold back a bit—after all, they were friends, and some restraint seemed fair.
Hitting Katya, though? No such concern applied.
Lynn stepped forward, fist already clenching.
In the dark, fine hairs sprouted instantly across his knuckles. Colorless neurotoxin flowed through them, entirely invisible in the darkness.
He put his full strength into a punch, straight into Katya's face!
Bang!
Katya's head snapped sideways, venom seeping into his skin through the pores.
"Ah—!!!"
He screamed again.
Lynn's second punch was already on its way.
Bang!
"I didn't want it to be like this either, Old Kat!"
Third punch.
Bang!
"But you're sick!"
Fourth punch.
Slap!
"You need treatment!"
Crack, thud, thud!
Lynn mixed in slaps between the punches, every blow landing solid.
Katya's screams echoed through the narrow passage, each one shriller than the last.
Before long, his face had swollen up like a pig's head. Eyes squeezed into two slits, lips puffed enormous, his whole face flushed red enough that his features had nearly disappeared.
"Sthop... hand!" he managed, garbled. "I'm... not thick!"
Lynn stopped and looked at him.
"You're really not under Imperio?"
"Not! Really not!"
Katya shook his head desperately, his swollen face all sincerity.
Lynn studied him for several seconds.
No resistance, no counterattack, just sincere begging.
Hm. Seems the treatment worked.
Lynn nodded, satisfied, but figured he'd better root out the illness completely, just to be safe.
He clenched his fist again.
Katya's eyes went wide with alarm.
"No—!"
Lynn's fist was already coming down.
Bang!
Just then—
light suddenly flared in the shadows behind him!
Lynn was already prepared; the instant Peter's Jolt gave a frantic warning, his body flipped aside!
Whoosh—!
Green light streaked past where he'd just been standing, shooting straight toward Katya.
Katya froze in place.
The green light flew past his face, missing by less than three inches.
He saw the color clearly.
The Killing Curse.
Katya opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but nothing came out.
Because he'd already wet himself, thoroughly and completely.
Warmth spread across his crotch, liquid trickling down his leg.
But he couldn't spare that a single thought right now.
He just stood there, blank, his mind entirely empty.
Lynn had no time to spare on Katya anymore.
He flipped upright and pointed his wand at the shadow, blasting an Explosion Charm straight into it!
Boom—!!!
Firelight from the blast lit up the area, and a figure stepped slowly out of the shadows.
Lynn narrowed his eyes and recognized him. "Arthur Wendell."
Ludo and the headmasters on the judges' panel: (O∆O)
"To have Azkaban's own champion remember my name," Arthur said, his tone as calm as if discussing the weather, "is truly quite an honor."
Lynn had no patience for chit-chat and raised his hand with a Reducto!
Arthur hadn't expected to be denied even a moment's small talk.
He hastily waved his wand, summoning a chunk of rubble to block it.
Bang!
The rubble exploded, fragments scattering everywhere.
Arthur staggered a step back, steadying himself.
"Nothing you'd like to ask?" he said, clearly stalling for time.
Lightning had already begun dancing at the tip of Lynn's wand.
"I do," he said, "but that'll wait until after I've thoroughly thrashed you."
His wand swept down, sending a bolt of lightning laced with a curse straight at Arthur.
This one ran more than twice as thick as the bolt that hit Katya; eerie dark red mixed through the blue-white light, the air twisting wherever it passed.
Arthur's expression shifted.
Only a fool would take that head-on.
He flashed aside, barely dodging it.
The lightning slammed into the hedge behind him, that section instantly charring and catching fire.
"Avada Kedavra!"
Arthur's counterattack came fast.
Green light shot straight for Lynn's face.
Lynn's feet shifted slightly, his body tilting, and the Killing Curse brushed past his face once again.
Arthur's eyes narrowed.
This kid's reflexes were absurd.
He kept his wand moving, spells raining toward Lynn one after another—Killing Curses, Cruciatus Curses, corrosive hexes, Severing Charms, all manner of Dark Arts in rapid succession.
Lynn wove through the barrage, occasionally raising a hand to parry, occasionally tilting his body to slip past.
His Peter's Jolt ran at full tilt, calling every spell's trajectory before it landed.
Arthur's attacks grew denser, more frantic.
None of them connected.
"That all you've got?" Lynn taunted.
Arthur didn't answer, though the corners of his mouth twitched upward for a fraction of a second.
Lynn caught it—something was off. Was this guy stalling on purpose?
His eyes went cold, and he stopped merely dodging. A flick of his wand sent Fiendfyre gushing out, taking dragon shape and lunging straight for Arthur!
Arthur's face changed, and he scrambled to throw up a Shield Charm.
The dragon slammed into it, flames splashing everywhere!
The impact drove Arthur back several steps, his shield trembling violently, looking ready to shatter at any moment.
Gritting his teeth, he swept his wand—
the ground cracked open, a wall of earth rising up to block the fire.
Lynn sneered. "That's it?"
Arthur was breathing hard, face pale, but that eerie smile lingered at the corners of his mouth.
"You won't hold out much longer," Lynn said.
Arthur forced a nod.
"I know." He paused. "But then again... maybe I don't need to hold out much longer."
Lynn had no idea what scheme the man was running, but he knew he needed to wrap this up fast.
He stopped holding back entirely.
His wand rose high, the light at its tip brighter than at any point before.
At the sight of that light, the smile on Arthur's face finally froze.
"You—"
He never finished the sentence.
Lynn's wand had already come down.
In an instant, fire blazed through the maze!
Fiendfyre laced with lightning carried more than enough destructive force to burn through anything. Golden-red flames poured from the tip of Lynn's wand, surging instantly into a raging sea of fire that swept over Arthur!
The Shield Charm he'd thrown up lasted less than a second.
It shattered.
Every part of him vanished into the flames.
A shrill scream tore through the fire, but it only lasted a moment.
Then—
silence.
The flames died down.
All that remained was a small pile of ash on the ground, drifting gently in the night wind.
Lynn caught his breath, staring at that pile of ash for several seconds, confirming Arthur was really gone.
Only then did he let out a long sigh and put his wand away. He turned and climbed back onto the Acromantula.
"Go."
Its eight legs surged forward, sprinting deeper into the maze.
Lynn sat on its back, watching the hedges rush past on either side, his feelings a tangled mess.
He couldn't wait for this miserable final task to be over already.
But it was one fight after another, no breaks in between.
First Fleur, then Cedric and Ryan, then Katya, and now this Arthur.
One after another, endlessly.
Surely things would finally settle down now?
Thinking that, Lynn patted the Acromantula's head.
"Faster."
It picked up even more speed.
...
Past one fork after another.
The darkness ahead finally broke.
Lynn saw light—light spilling from deep within the maze, warm and bright, striking against the surrounding dark.
The Goblet of Fire.
Lynn's eyes lit up.
He urged the Acromantula forward at once.
Its eight legs pumped in rapid rotation, speed pushed to the limit.
The distance closed, bit by bit.
The light grew brighter and brighter.
He could already make out the stone pedestal clearly.
The Goblet of Fire sat atop it, wrapped entirely in blue-white flame, blazing brilliantly against the darkness.
Just then—
Lynn's gaze suddenly froze.
He saw a figure.
It burst out from a passage on another side, sprinting straight for the goblet!
Fast. Very fast.
Lynn's pupils contracted; he recognized that figure instantly.
Harry reached the stone pedestal and grabbed hold of the Goblet of Fire.
The next second, the figure vanished from the maze entirely, trophy in hand.
Only a faint light lingered, slowly fading into the air.
Lynn stood frozen in place.
Sitting atop the Acromantula, he stared blankly at the now-empty pedestal, his mind completely blank.
What just happened?
...
Crack—
A flash of firelight passed by.
Dumbledore's figure reappeared on the judges' panel.
His robes hung slightly disheveled, his silvery beard dusted faintly, his face carrying a deep exhaustion.
But his gaze went straight to the giant screen.
He caught the scene of Harry's disappearance just in time.
Dumbledore froze.
He stared at that empty pedestal, at the light still slowly fading into nothing, and said nothing for a long while.
Professor McGonagall beside him shot to her feet. "Albus! Harry, he—"
Dumbledore raised a hand, stopping her.
His gaze stayed fixed on the screen.
Behind his half-moon spectacles, complicated emotions flickered across those pale blue eyes.
After several seconds, he finally spoke, voice quiet.
"Harry's been teleported away." Dumbledore paused. "Along with the Goblet of Fire."
---
Enjoying the story?
Read up to 45+ chapters ahead on Patreon.
Patreon: patreon.com/mrfanfiction140
Be sure to leave a review!!! And read my other novels as well.
[ Naruto : Multiverse Adventures. ]
[ Hunter x Hunter : The Alchemist. ]
[ One Piece : Reincarnated As A Genderbent Charlotte Linlin. ]
[ Warhammer 40K : Bounty Hunter. ]
[ DC : Dio Brando. ]
Happy Reading!!!